(L-R) Taylor Litofsky (Logainne), Sam Slottow (Leaf), Preston Grover (Chip), Lila Cooper (Olive), Stephen Emery (Barfée), and Cera Baker (Marcy). Photo courtesy of Compass Rose Theater.
“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” now playing at Compass Rose Theater is a delightful and moving production. This 2005 Tony Award-winning musical (written by Rachel Sheinkin, music and lyrics by William Finn, additional material by Jay Reiss, and conceived by Rebecca Feldman) is hilarious, controlled chaos under Tommy Malek’s tight direction and choreography.
…hilarious, controlled chaos under Tommy Malek’s tight direction and choreography.
Simply put, the play is about six middle school students, all spelling bee winners from their respective schools, now competing for the county title. The play derives some of its humor from its familiarity. We know these kids—the boy who picks his nose and can’t be still; the shy, smart girl who blends into the woodwork; and the lumbering, goofy boy whose unfortunate name is a constant sore spot. We also see in the ‘adults’ in the room and the children they may have been.
The play is beautifully cast. As the lights go up, the director, Rona Lisa Peretti (Beth Amann), is like a deer caught in the headlights. The spell is broken when she sees this year’s trophy, awaiting its champion. She is a former champion herself, and we begin to suspect she is not over her glory days. Ms. Peretti uses the same well-practiced, sing-song teacher cadence in every utterance, appropriate or not. She tells the audience a fun fact that a contestant is just getting over a bad case of head lice as though she were announcing the lunch menu over the PA system.
Douglas Panch (Omar Said), the official word pronouncer, dutifully pronounces, defines and uses each word in a sentence as requested by the spellers—until he can’t take any more. We begin to understand why he may have ‘taken time off’ from the Bee. The only other ‘adult’ is the official comfort counselor/recent parolee, Mitch Mahoney (B.J. Robertson), who does as much comforting as a crotchety grandfather as he hauls each dinged student off and hands them a juice box.
The children, all played by adults, are over the top and terrific. Marcy (Cera Baker) is the robotic, all-about-business whiz kid who is a shoo-in for the trophy until she has an epiphany—she’s not all about business! She doesn’t have to win!
Olive (Lila Cooper) is a heart breaker. Her mother is in India, she vainly waits for her busy father to show, and she struggles bravely on stage. She is shy but she notices everything. Logainne (Taylor Litofsky) is so expressive it seems her face might break. She lisps and shouts and twists, all the while trying not to disappoint her demanding parents. Barfee is large and over-bearing in his certainty, but gives off the aura of one who has been made fun of his entire life. Leaf (Sam Slottow), a squirming bundle of energy who thinks he’s not smart, seems clueless until, trancelike, he spews out correct answer after correct answer. Chip (Preston Grover), perhaps the most ‘normal’ of the bunch, meets his end in the Bee by an untimely…well, let’s just say bodily function.
Behind the humor we feel the love and humanity of the struggles on stage. These six quirky and geeky middle school students under the lights are, for the duration of the spelling bee season, absolute winners. Here they find kindred spirits and the respect absent in their everyday lives. In asides we see demanding, belittling, or just absent parents, and children using skill with spelling to compensate for the words they cannot yet express to survive in a difficult world.
The lighting by Atticus C. Boidy flows seamlessly over each highlight, and the musical numbers, directed by Rachel Sandler, are terrific. Add some audience members who join the spellers on stage and struggle through words as well (okay, maybe “cow” is not a struggle), and a cameo from Jesus, and you will be transported away from the cares of the day—and you may learn something as well.
Running Time: Approximately two hours with one 15-minute intermission.
Advisory: Contains adult language, mild sexual references and innuendos, and features irreverent depictions of religious figures and symbolism.
“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” runs through April 28, 2024 presented by Compass Rose Theater at Maryland Hall (Third Floor), 801 Chase Street, Annapolis, MD 21401. For more information, call 401-980-6662 or go online.
